For the third straight year, seminal West Coast rappers N.W.A have been nominated for the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.
Recently, the Hall has been more open to Hip Hop acts. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were the first rappers to make the Hall of Fame in 2007 and since then Run DMC (2009), the Beastie Boys (2012) and Public Enemy (2013) have made the cut.
To be eligible for this year an act had to have released their first recording in 1989 or before.
The classic N.W.A lineup was DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and Ice Cube and MC Ren. Arabian Prince was in the band originally, but left right before they hit it big, poor guy.
Their 1988 hit album Straight Out of Compton introduced the masses to "gangsta rap" and their single "Fuck The Police" made them national lightening rods.
Ice Cube left the group over royalties in 1989. The band then released the EP 100 Miles and Runnin' and the album Niggaz4Life before more or less disbanding in 1991
Ice Cube, the late Easy E and Dr. Dre all went on to high profile solo careers. Dre and Cube are two of the successful figures in Hip Hop history. A N.W.A biopic is schedule for release in August of 2015.
Other Hall of Fame nominees this year include Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, the Smiths, Lou Reed, Sting, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Kraftwerk, Chic, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, the Marvelettes, the Spinners, Stevie Ray Vaughan, War and Bill Withers.
Given the competition and N.W.A's short self life and genre, they are probably a long shot to get the nod. Do you think N.W.A. belongs in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame?